Nowadays, bands don’t need to rely on directors to oversee music videos; savvy fans will create the perfect one for them.

For the title track to Ra Ra Riot’s third studio release, “Beta Love,” a visual entry posted online by David Burkhart was adopted as the official clip. It consists of footage from “Dance Party,” a 1980s show that aired on a San Francisco local access television station.

“As soon as we saw it, we fell in love and knew we wanted to use it. Nothing else we’d make would be better or more entertaining,” said bassist Mathieu Santos in an email interview from a Tokyo tour stop. “We kept watching over and over and laughing at how well it was synced up.”

Ra Ra Riot, with Pacific Air, Cayucas

That infectious song is a fine taster for the New York City-based indie-pop quartet’s vibrant New Wave-leaning album, which debuted in the top 75 on the Billboard 200 chart and is currently top five at College Music Journal.

Ra Ra Riot started in 2006, when members were students at Syracuse University and entertained house parties around campus.

“We formed our chemistry in that lively, immediate, visceral environment,” Santos said of the early gigs. “We always try to play with a lot of passion and energy and have fun while doing it.”

Initially, the band’s alluring chamber pop sound attracted a buzz among East Coast cognoscenti, prompting show-opening stints for The Horrors and Death Cab for Cutie and a headline tour of Britain.

The debut disc “The Rhumb Line” arrived two years later, while the acclaimed 2010 follow-up “The Orchard” (mixed by Death Cab’s Chris Walla and Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend) garnered some award nominations, plus TV show and commercial ad placements.

When it came time to do “Beta Love,” the goal was to take a more immediate approach than in the past.

Recording for the first time with a big-name producer like Dennis Herring — who previously oversaw efforts by Ra Ra Riot faves Elvis Costello, Modest Mouse and The Hives — led the musicians to “achieve things we wouldn’t have been able to do on our own.”

Among the “Beta Love” standouts are the hyper “Binary Mind” (part of a lyrical thread inspired by futuristic authors William Gibson and Ray Kurzweil), the sprightly “For Once,” and the earworm “Angel, Please” (frontman Wes Miles’ falsetto gets a good workout, and Rebecca Zeller provides lovely violin strains on both tracks). Meanwhile, “That Much” is a showcase for Milo Bonacci’s spastic guitar work.

Herring crafted some melodies and drum beats, essentially functioning as a fifth member. Another key contributor was Josh Freese, a sought-after session drummer for countless alt-rock acts and Devo member since the 1990s.

“Working with Josh was an absolute highlight of our career. … We had a direct connection to some of (his) New Wave energy,” Santos said.